Endoscope handle



May 10, 1949. M. v. BHAJEKAR 2,470,013

ENDOSCOPE HANDLE Filed Jan. 24, 1945 Patented May 10, 1949 ENDOSCOPE HANDLE Madhav V. Bhajekar, Bombay, India Application January 24, 1945, Serial No. 574,378

In India February 7, 1944 2 Claims.

The invention relates to an improvement on various instruments that are used for examination of body cavities, and the object of the present invention is to provide an instrument with proximal illumination to which can be fitted various appropriate tubes and thus enable the surgeon to examine one body cavity by difierent methods with the same instrument, or to examine different body cavities with different methods by the same instrument. The endoscope handle provides such an instrument with proximal illumination to which it is merely necessary to attach appropriate tubes.

At present there are two instruments that are in use:

(11) Those with distal illumination and those with (b) Proximal illumination The disadvantages of the present instruments with distal illumination are:

(a) The lamps being small and delicate are easily fused (21) These lamps are very expensive, and

lamp fits only one type of instrument The tube of the endoscopic instrument has to be of a size larger than necessary in order to accommodate the lamp (d) The lamp is liable to be damaged during use (6) It is difiicult and it interferes with the manipulation if for any reason it becomes necessary to change the lamp while the instrument is in use The disadvantages of the present instruments with proximal illumination are:

types of endoscopic each (a) Each instrument is for one particular use only (2)) For certain types of endoscopic examinations there are no instruments manufactured with proximal illumination (0) There is no one instrument manufactured which can be used for examination of several body cavities ((1) There is no one instrument which can be used for more than one type of examination e. g. dry and/or inflation urethoscopy and sigmoidoscopy 2 cave mirror fitted with a cog-wheel arrangement by means of which the tilt of the mirror can be firmly and accurately adjusted.

2. Through the lower part of the vertical piece is inserted a tube which carries the source of illumination. On this tube is fitted a switch.

3. The free end of the lower horizontal piece is shaped into a socket for fitting into it various types of tubes. The rest of the piece is grooved, into which one end of the vertical piece is fitted by means of a screw arrangement; on the top of the socket can be fitted a tilted glass cap with two taps and two stop-cocks, for air inflation or fluid irrigation after insertion of the tube into the body cavity. On the rim of the socket on one side is a seat with a screw to hold an angular rod which has a clip at the end of its horizontal part to hold a small telescope. On the front of the socket rim is a screw-in seat for a handle. The mirror-light part can be moved away from or towards the socket by means of a screw.

Figure 1 shows the front view of the instrument with its various parts numbered as follows:

The cog-wheel arrangement by the interaction of parts 2 and 2a for firmly and accurately tilting the concave mirror 3 by means of screw l The two taps IS with stop-cocks l4 attached to the tilted glass cap l5 The screw-in seat I! The screw l6 for holding firmly the endoscopic tube e. g. 2!

The angular rod !8 with the clip I9 to hold a small telescope The screw 25 for holding tightly the angular rod The lens 5 The screws 4 for holding the mirror case Figure 2 shows the side view of the instrument with its various parts numbered as follows:

The vertical piece II, the upper horizontal piece 21 and the lower horizontal piece 22 One of the wheels 2a of the cog-wheel arrangement The concave mirror in its case 3 The angled casing l with the lens 5 in front of the bulb and held in place by means of the screw ring 6 The tube H! which carries the electric bulb The switch 9 on the bulk carrying tube which can be worked by turning the ebonite piece 8 The tilted glass cap I5 The handle 20 and wires 24 The screw 23 whose movement can shift the mirror-light part of the instrument away from or towards the socket The angular rod IS with the clip l9 Figure 3 shows the lower aspect of the instru- ,ment with its various parts numbered as follows:

The seat 26 with the opening for holding the angular rod, and the screw 25 to hold the rod tightly A part of the. switch 9 on the tube IZl with the ebom'te piece 8 The screw 23 The socket 28 The stop-cocks i4 and the taps l3 The instrument consists of three 'main parts joined to each other at right angles. Through the vertical piece ii is inserted a tube it in which is fitted an ordinary battery bulb. In front of this bulb is placed a small lens 5 so that the rays of the bulb may be concentrated before they reach the mirror 3. On the tube which is outside the angled part is fitted a switch 9 so that the lamp can be easily extinguished by turning the ebonite piece 8. On the upper horizontal part 22 is fitted a concave mirror 55 whose tilt can be adjusted by means of a cog-wheel gear arrangement formed by wheels 2 and This gear is worked by screw l. The free end of the lower horizontal piece 22 is shaped into a socket 28 to take in different endoscopic tubes. On the top of the socket can be fitted a glass cap 55 with two taps I3 one on each side of the glass cap for air inflation or fluid irrigation and controlled by stop-cocks M. On one side of the socket is a screw it to hold firmly the endoscopic tube e. g. H. On the front of the socket-rim is a screw-in seat l? for a handle Eli. On one side of the socket-rim is a seat 26 with an opening and a screw 25 to hold tightly the angular rod It with the clip is which can carry a ll telescope. The mirror carrying part 2'! toge with the light carrying middle part II with the tube it are mounted into the socket carrying part 22 by means of a groove and screw arrangement. Turning this screw 23 enables the operator to move the mirror-light part away from or towards the socket 123. This socket 28 is adapted to take various endoscopic tubes e. g. single or extension tubes.

The action and interaction of the various parts is as follows:

The idea in introducing this invention is to provide the surgeon with a single instrument with which he can with ease examine several body cavities by merely attaching the appropriate endoscopic tubes. The wires 24 are attached to an 8 volt transformer. By turning the ebonite piece 8 the switch 3 is put into action and the bulb which is enclosed in the angled case i is lighted. The ebonite piece and the wire connections are enclosed in the tube it. The angled case 1 with the lens 5 can be removed easily by pulling it towards the socket, as it is fitted by a mere slip joint into the piece i l. The rays of the bulb pass through the lens 5 and are then projected on the mirror 3. The lens is secured in its place by screw ring (5. By turning screw the tilt of the concave mirror is adjusted through the interaction of the Wheels 2 and 2a which make the cogwheel gear arrangement, so that the rays can be. made to pass down the tube 2!. Screws 4 merely help to hold the mirror-case in position. If it is intended to make the endoscopic tube airtight-as for inflation sigmoidoscopy-the tilted glass cap with the taps I3 and stop-cocks I4 is fixed on the top of the socket 28. By turning the stop-cocks the tube can be put into communication with the external air. If so desired one tap may be closed while the other is left open. By means of the screw I 8 the endoscopic tube can be held tightly intothe socket. If it is necessary to use the handle 20 it can be screwed into its seat l'i. When it is desired to use magnification a small telescope can be fitted into the clip I9. It is then merely necessaryto turn it into position so that it is brought in the line of the axis of the tube. When it is not required, it can be turned away out of View to one side. The angular rod i8 is fixed into its seat 26 and held there firmly by means of screw 25. If one wishes to move the mirror-light part away from or towards the socket, as it is necessary to do when changing over from a bigger to a smaller tube, it can be easily done by turning the screw 23, which moves the part backwards or forwards.

The distinguishing features of the instrument which I have devised-are as follows:

1. The instrument is for examination of different body cavities.

2. The glass cap is removable and adjustable and therefore the instrument can be made air-tight only when so desired.

3. The distance between the bulb and the mirror is fixed.

l. The line of the axis of the mirror and the tube is adjustable.

5. The mirror-light part is movable in its relation to the socket in which difierent tubes can be fitted.

6. Irrigation of the body cavity can be done with this instrument for which special taps and stop-cocks are provided.

7 The size of the operating instrument which can be passed into the tube is restricted only by the size of the tube itself and its movement is not hampered by its being held in a special compartment of its own.

I claim:

1. An endoscope handle, for endoscopic examination tubes, with proximal illumination made up of two horizontal pieces joined by a vertical piece; one end of the upper horizontal piece is immovably fixed to one end of the vertical piece while the other end of the horizontal piece has a tilting concave mirror attached thereto with a cog-wheel arrangement for changing the angle of the mirror; the other end of the vertical piece is attached to one end of the lower horizontal piece in such a way that the whole vertical piece, through about the middle of which is inserted the illuminating apparatus, together with the hired upper horizontal piece can be moved in a horizontaldirection away from or towards the socket which forms the free end of the lower horizontal piece, and in which socket can be fitted various endoscopic tubes, while a tilted removable cap having a transparent face and fitted with taps and stop-cocks adapted for irrigation, insuifiation and inflation purposes can be fitted to close the proximal end of the socket.

2. An apparatus as claimed in l to which can be attached a handle.

MADHAV VINAYEK BHAJEKAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,705,513 Wappler Mar. 19, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 203,784 Great-Britain Sept. 13, 1923 

